Watch dramatic moment giant 3,500mph METEOR explodes in blazing white hot fireball over Siberia turning night into day
THIS is the astonishing moment a huge meteor exploded in a blazing white fireball as it flew at an incredible 3,500mph.
Footage showed the space rock turning Russia’s night sky into day as it burned up in the atmosphere.
Some 28 inches in diameter, it made a spectacular show as it headed on a collision course towards Earth.
Astronomer Franck Marchis shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) concluding the asteroid would impact with a speed of 15.6 km/s, which converts to 3,500mph.
The European Space Agency had predicted in advance that “the collision will be harmless and will likely create a beautiful fireball in the sky over northern Siberia”.
It was only the 11th asteroid to be spotted before entering the Earth’s atmosphere.
Siberia was braced for the “attack” and C0WEPC5 asteroid did not disappoint as footage captured its fiery descent.
The Putin regime had earlier announced that it was likely to fall over Russia‘s Yakutia region – also known as Sakha Republic.
It is known for being the coldest inhabited region in the world.
The Institute of Applied Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences correctly predicted that the asteroid would not pose a threat to humanity.
It would not reach the Earth’s surface but would burn up in the atmosphere, the Institute also said.
The nearest populated area to the meteor was reported to be Olekminsk, which has some 4,500 inhabitants, in Yakutia, just some 630 miles from Tunguska.
Tunguska was the scene of what was widely regarded as one of the most powerful natural events in recorded history in 1908 – a thousand times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
This was caused by the airburst of a meteor or comet three-to-six miles above the Earth’s surface.
The object was much larger, measuring between 164-197 feet in diameter.
It comes after a small asteroid that was due to collide with Earth burned up in the atmosphere and gave onlookers in the Philippines a dazzling display.
The 3ft space rock is the ninth asteroid to ever be spotted from Earth before impact, according to the European Space Agency.
Asteroids a few feet in diameter strike fairly often but are rarely detected.
The asteroid plummeted towards Luzon Island in the Philippines and in a split-second made a pitch-black sky look as though it was daylight.
Observers recorded the flash as it streaked through the atmosphere, which appears green in some clips.
Surprisingly, cloud cover from Typhoon Yagi did not occlude it from sight.
The space rock, dubbed asteroid 2024 RW1, was expected to enter the atmosphere at roughly 11 miles per second, or just under 40,000 miles per hour.
Nasa’s Planetary Defence Coordination Office said the ‘harmless’ impact was detected by multiple sensors.